Texas Comptroller Don Huffines has signed four directives he calls executive orders in the past month, using a label usually reserved for chief executives while directing his own agency staff to begin formal rule changes. Brandon Rottinghaus, a University of Houston political science professor, said the orders do not supersede legislative policymaking or governor's orders, likening them to agency memoranda or directives. "He's trying to amplify the nature of these orders," Rottinghaus said. "This is really internal housekeeping more than anything."
Huffines' office did not respond to a list of questions or an interview request about why the directives bear the executive order label.
The first order, signed in late September, directs staff to propose a rule change exempting fees charged by online marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon from the state's data processing tax. Sellers on those platforms pay the tax, from restaurants selling food on DoorDash to vendors selling crafts on Etsy, and the comptroller's office said customers also bore the cost. "This puts tens of millions of dollars annually back in the pocket of Texas families and small businesses," Huffines said as he held up a jumbo printed version of the order. "There will be a lot more coming."
The proposed rule change has been published in the Texas Register, the state's weekly journal of agency rules. The office acknowledged the change would reduce state general revenue but argued it would benefit the public "by reducing costs and uncertainty for businesses." Huffines said: "Ending this tax isn't a cost to government because this money never belonged to the government. You cannot lose what was never yours."
A legislative attempt to make similar changes stalled earlier this year. Rep. Angie Chen Button, a Garland Republican, introduced House Bill 1681 to exclude certain services from the tax; it drew praise at a committee hearing from small business owners and online retailers such as Expedia but never advanced. The Legislative Budget Board estimated the bill would cost the state millions of dollars in revenue, a calculation Button called "misinformation." After Huffines' directive, Button wrote on social media: "Glad to see momentum behind this effort to make Texas taxes fairer."
The later orders follow the same approach. The second, announced Oct. 6, targets a tax charged when a patient or doctor requests medical records. The third, announced Oct. 13, would ban state grant money from funding Flock surveillance cameras, in line with a late-August executive order from Gov. Greg Abbott halting state funding of the technology. The Texas Tribune has reported that one state agency devoted some $30 million to the state's Flock network through grants to local police departments. The fourth order, issued last week, requires state contractors and grantees to assure the state no part of their work involves diversity, equity and inclusion programs; the document itself had not yet been posted online. Huffines' office called it "the latest in a series of new standard terms" being written into contracts and grants "to protect taxpayers and enforce Texas law," and teased more to come.
The orders arrive less than five weeks before Election Day, where Huffines faces Democratic nominee Sarah Eckhardt, a state senator from Austin. Appointed by Abbott in August, Huffines has fired dozens of staff, upended the agency's structure and campaigned on promises to "DOGE the state" without having yet won a general election. A recent University of Texas at Austin Texas Politics Project poll placed Huffines one point ahead of Eckhardt, within the margin of error.
Eckhardt said Huffines, who unsuccessfully challenged Abbott in the 2022 Republican primary, is "cosplaying" as governor. "We don't have two governors. We have one," she said, listing the comptroller's duties, including keeping contract procurement processes above board. "These are important jobs of the comptroller but he doesn't seem interested in those jobs. He's fixated on having governor-like powers."
Rottinghaus noted the approach has precedent. Bob Bullock, perhaps the office's best-known former occupant, similarly leveraged administrative rules to control how businesses calculated taxes and reported franchise taxes. The orders also help Huffines establish a record as an incumbent, Rottinghaus said, as he pitches himself to voters.
Early voting is underway through Oct. 30. Election Day is Nov. 3.